Kitchen Sink Shutoff Valves

What is your preferred type of shut off valve for under a kitchen sink. Have to help my future son-in-law put in a new faucet and the cold shut off is seized. I usually go to the local Plumbing supply, stuff at the big box stores looks cheap. Doesn't have to be pretty. We'll also probably use SS braided hoses, cabinet has a center stile so getting in there is a pain. Thought about compression fittings, copper pipe is 1/2". Any suggestion or comments good or bad are welcomed, I have thick skin, lol.

thanks, Pete

I don't know if it's a code thing in Jersey, but on the West Coast, we use compression stops.

Terry, What are compression stops? Is this the type of valve (e.g. ball valve) or the fittings to connect with. Never heard the term compression stop.

It's the manner in which the fitting attaches to the pipe. There are many, but some only work with certain pipes. On copper, your common choices in probable order of common usage are compression, soldered, or threaded. There are some companies that also make 'push-on' fittings that use gripper teeth and an o-ring(s) to make the seal, but the other three have stood the test of time.

A compression fitting uses a compression washer over the pipe that gets sandwiched into the valve by a nut to make the seal. the soldered is probably obvious, as is the threaded one (where the pipe dope and/or thread sealant fills the gaps in the threads to seal). My preference is a 1/4-turn valve which doesn't have a washer to get old and stiff.

Flare is not very popular in New England? Very common here in Florida.

thanks for the replies so far. I was thinking 1/4 turn with compression fittings. Only place I've seen flare fittings used was either oil heater fuel line or on car fuel & brake lines.

As I understand it, flare requires soft copper...the more prevelant piping here is rigid copper.

You would be most likely to find flare valves in mobile homes. Some new faucets, but maybe not Moen, come with integral supply lines these days, so you cannot use the stainless steel ones.